1. Field
The present invention relates generally to computer systems and more specifically to wireless communication from a computer to a digital display device.
2. Description
The technology and uses of computer systems, especially personal computers (PCs), and televisions are converging. Generally, a home PC is situated in a den, bedroom, or office and used to execute applications, such as word processing, financial spreadsheets, electronic mail, and World Wide Web (WWW) browsing, for example. The PC is also typically used by only one person at a time. A television, in contrast, is usually situated in the living room of a home and is typically used by one or more people at a time. The television is used primarily for news and entertainment purposes, with the television programs being provided by broadcast, cable, satellite, or video cassette recorder (VCR) signal sources.
In most desktop PCs, a computer monitor is physically attached by cables to the PC. Often these cables are only four to six feet long, ensuring that the monitor is situated in close proximity to the PC. This arrangement is practical and acceptable when a single user of the PC interacts with the PC's keyboard, mouse or other input device, and the monitor, by sitting at a desk or table that supports these devices. However, with the convergence of the PC and the television, new uses of the PC are possible. A PC situated in one room may be used to provide the display output data for a display device (such as a "big-screen" television, for example) situated in another room. Alternatively, the PC may be in the same room as the remote display device, but located at a greater distance away from the display device than can be easily or aesthetically serviced by cables. In either case, it would be desirable to transfer the audio and video output data of the PC to a remote display device such as a television, for example, in a widely acceptable and low cost manner without the use of cables or wires.
AlTech, Inc., of Fremont, Calif., markets a wireless PC-to-TV scan converter that displays a PC's output data remotely on an analog television. The scan converter converts a PC's digital Video Graphics Adapter (VGA) output signals to National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) analog format and transmits the NTSC signal to a receiver unit that plugs into a standard analog television. However, this approach has several disadvantages. It requires independent transmitter and receiver units to be purchased by a consumer, is relatively expensive, and supports only one PC display resolution. Additionally, the image quality displayed on the analog television is severely degraded by the conversion to an analog format according to this technique.
What is needed is a method and apparatus for using digital televisions as remote PC displays which overcomes the disadvantages of previous analog technologies.